Ye wei = a recent Chinese fad where exotic items are consumed with no regard for their rare, precious quality or the detrimental effect on the environment.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Ginsberg's first Howl and free Angie Stone single

A piece of literary history is being made public today. It was long thought that Allen Ginsberg's first reading of his earth-shaking poem "Howl" was in California but there's an earlier version of him reading the piece in Portland that was recently dug up- from February 1956, a few months before being published. Now you can hear this amazing document through the good people at Reed College (where the original recording was made). You'll be able to hear this starting at 12 Noon EST today. This link takes you straight to the material and you can see more of his other readings here (note some of the laughter that occurs during his reading).

As if that wasn't enough of a treat, there's also a really nice old-school R&B/soul joint courtesy of the good people at Soul-Patrol. They're offering a free Angie Stone/James Ingram single there- "My People," in honor of Black History Month. You can download it here at the SP site.